President Mukherjee meets top Communist Party official

Guangzhou, May 25: Economic policies, particularly those designed to attract foreign direct investment in India, were today the focus of discussions President Pranab Mukherjee had with a senior Chinese Communist party official here on the second day of his four-day visit to China.

Hu Chunhua, Party Secretary of Guangdong province, hosted a lunch in honour of the President and the two also discussed federal-provincial relations in China, centre-state relations in India and the historic cultural relationship between the two countries.

The Communist party official evinced keen interest in the economic policies of India, especially those relating to foreign investment.

Briefing reporters, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said the President explained to him the new initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ in the context of foreign investment.

Mukherjee recalled one of his earlier visits as External Affairs Minister to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong which has a USD one trillion economy, and his opening of the Indian Consulate here.

The President was told that after the Japanese and Koreans, Indians accounted for the largest foreign population in Guangdong and their role is very much appreciated.

Earlier in the day, the President visited the Hualin temple, which shares the closest link to Bodhidharma. Legend has it that the temple was built in 527 AD during the Liang dynasty soon after the arrival of Indian monk Bodhidharma who later founded Zen Buddhism in China.

The Chinese side appreciated the President’s gesture of visiting the temple that provided the basis for a discussion on the cultural relationship between the two countries historically.